Shorthanded Bay Animal Control adding staff

Molly, a 6-year-old shih tzu, licks the face of Carol Treftz at the Bay County Animal Shelter in Bay County in this News Herald file photo.

Andrew P Johnson | The News Herald

By MATTHEW BEATON | The News Herald

Published: Saturday, September 7, 2013 at 04:13 PM.

PANAMA CITY— Bay County Animal Control is working on a host of improvements, but one of the most important will be fully staffing its operations.

Since last fall, when the state began investigating its euthanasia and record-keeping practices, five employees have quit the department and one was fired, leaving Animal Control with seven full-time employees, three short of its 10 budgeted positions.

The department will add four more full-time employees under the tentative budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which was approved Tuesday and includes a 60 percent increase — more than $295,000 — for personnel expenses. Animal Control’s overall budget is set to increase by 38 percent and total $1.2 million. The fiscal year starts Oct. 1.

Four more animal control officers account for the staff increase. The officers go out on calls about dangerous or stray animals and make between $27,000 and $42,000 a year.

The shelter also has added an on-site veterinarian position, which it has been advertising for months, but it remains unfilled. The county has received applications for the job, which would essentially co-manage the shelter and make between $43,000 and $69,000, but no hire has been made, said Valerie Sale, county spokeswoman.

During this flux period, the shelter has reduced its weekday hours, closing at 5 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. so employees can come in an hour earlier and receive training, said Animal Control director Carol Treftz. Saturday hours remain the same and the shelter is closed Sunday and Monday.

Treftz said she expects the department to be fully staffed by Jan. 1. The process takes time because new animal control officers must attend a weeklong class, offered only about three times a year through the Florida Animal Control Association.

PANAMA CITY— Bay County Animal Control is working on a host of improvements, but one of the most important will be fully staffing its operations.

Since last fall, when the state began investigating its euthanasia and record-keeping practices, five employees have quit the department and one was fired, leaving Animal Control with seven full-time employees, three short of its 10 budgeted positions.

The department will add four more full-time employees under the tentative budget for fiscal year 2013-14, which was approved Tuesday and includes a 60 percent increase — more than $295,000 — for personnel expenses. Animal Control’s overall budget is set to increase by 38 percent and total $1.2 million. The fiscal year starts Oct. 1.

Four more animal control officers account for the staff increase. The officers go out on calls about dangerous or stray animals and make between $27,000 and $42,000 a year.

The shelter also has added an on-site veterinarian position, which it has been advertising for months, but it remains unfilled. The county has received applications for the job, which would essentially co-manage the shelter and make between $43,000 and $69,000, but no hire has been made, said Valerie Sale, county spokeswoman.

During this flux period, the shelter has reduced its weekday hours, closing at 5 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. so employees can come in an hour earlier and receive training, said Animal Control director Carol Treftz. Saturday hours remain the same and the shelter is closed Sunday and Monday.

Treftz said she expects the department to be fully staffed by Jan. 1. The process takes time because new animal control officers must attend a weeklong class, offered only about three times a year through the Florida Animal Control Association.

The new officers must graduate from the class before they even write a citation, Treftz said. While they wait, the officers can work in the shelter, learning procedures. Upon graduation, Treftz will take them out for on-the-road training, giving pointers on how to do the work.

“I would probably ride with each officer a week at a time before I would be comfortable letting them be by themselves,” Treftz said.

Treftz has been on the job since Aug. 19 and is upbeat about the department, despite its problems. She noted many improvements have been implemented since she started.

“I’ve got a great staff; I’ve got great people behind me with my bosses and the county commissioners, so I’m very comfortable here,” she said.

The changes include a new animal food and supply process, a reconfigured lobby with a manned welcome counter, a new phone system and a new gate at the shelter’s rear to prevent animals from escaping during unloading.

The County Commission was briefed on improvements at the shelter last week and plans for future changes, which are based on recommendations made by a nonprofit group that reviewed the shelter earlier this year. The group, The Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program, recently sent the county its finalized report.

The county plans to implement these changes, if it hasn’t done so already, in the next fiscal year. They include starting a “structured volunteer program.”

On Tuesday, the commission chose to create a uniform interlocal agreement for the municipalities for which it provides animal control. Right now, it has different agreements with different cities. The county is drafting the agreement and it should be presented at the commission’s Sept. 17 meeting.

Chairman George Gainer supports the measure because it will eliminate confusion based on cities boundary lines and increase efficiency.

“We’ve got to go in and treat every animal pretty much the same, using the same care and control that we’d use in Springfield as we would in Parker or Callaway or Panama City, so I think that it’s very important that we standardize that,” he said.

Gainer was pleased with the staff presentation and the shelter improvements. He said it shows the county recognizes animal control “needs to be done a little differently.”

Right now, the county has no hard and fast plans for Maddie’s to return in a year or two and reassess the shelter and the upgrades that were made. The county does remain in contact with the group, though, which is affiliated with the University of Florida.

Gainer said it would be wise to have Maddie’s or a similar organization evaluate the shelter in a year or two.

“I think we’d be foolish not to follow up and take their advice and make sure we’re doing the very best we can to provide Bay County with the highest quality animal control,” he said.

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